Promotion and Tenure Workshop 2020-2021

February 2020

OverviewThe Road to Promotion and Tenure

1. Promotion vs. Tenure (P&T)2. Confidentiality3. Levels of Review4. Contents of a Dossier5. Dossier Preparation Timeline6. Dossier Preparation7. Provisional Tenure Period8. College of IST P&T Committee

Promotion vs. TenurePromotion: Based on recognized performance and achievement in each of the several areas, asappropriate to the particular responsibilities assigned to the faculty member.

Tenure:Based on the potential for further achievement in the several areas enumerated above as indicated by performance during the provisional appointment.

The presumption is that a positive tenure decision for an assistant professor is sufficient to warrant promotion to associate professor. In an exceptional case, a decision can be made to tenure but not to promote; however the burden would be on the committee (s) or administrator (s) who wish to separate promotion from a positive tenure decision to show why promotion is not warranted.

Promotion and TenureGeneral Criteria

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

• Scholarship of Research and Creative Accomplishments

• Service and the Scholarship of Service to the University, Society and the Profession

Confidentiality

Excerpts from Penn State AC23:

. . . .members of the Promotion & Tenure Committee participate with the understanding that all matters related to their deliberations remain confidential.

. . . .all aspects of the promotion and tenure process are confidential.

Important:Confidentiality of the promotion and tenure process is to be respected forever, not just during that particular year of review.

Multi-Year P&T Timeline2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year

6th year Full Professor5th Year (early)

Provisional Reviews

Reason for Review2nd Year review

Decision by Dean

4th Year review

Decision by Dean

6th year – tenure and promotion

Full – promotion5th Year – Early tenure

External Letter Writers

No Requires letters from at least four external sources

Level of Review Stays within the College(2 levels: P&T Committee and Dean)

College plus University Level

Listings of Workin Progress (publications)

Included in dossier Not included

The DossierP&T Recommendation Form Admin. Support

Biographical Data Form Candidate

College Criteria Statement College

Candidate Signature Page College

Narrative Statement Candidate

Dossier Sections

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Candidate

Scholarship of Research and Creative Accomplishments

Candidate

Service and the Scholarship of Service to the University, Society and the Profession

Candidate

External Letters of Assessment (6th Year Review and Promotion to Professor)

College

Statement of Evaluation P&T Committee/Dean

Supplemental MaterialsFull SRTE Information and student comments for all years of review: 2nd-, 4th-, 6th-level reviews.

Admin. Support

Current Academic Curriculum Vitae Candidate

Important:Unless requested by the University-level review committee during a six-year review,Supplemental Materials stay within the College and are not uploaded into Activity Insight.

The academic CV must include all curriculum development, course innovations, committee work and other service.

Biographical Data Formfor Promotion/Tenure Review

IMPORTANT:

• Please complete the form in its entirety. Please include Exact Rank and Title.

• Please complete all fields in Section II: Academic Training including degree dates.

• Please complete all fields in Section III: Academic, Government, Military and Professional Positions including Rank or Title and Dates (from-to).

• Please complete Section IV: Previous Sabbaticals at The Pennsylvania State University (if applicable).

Narrative Statement

IMPORTANT:

• 2-3 Pages (3 pages max) in 10 point font with existing margins in the Activity Insight University Dossier template.

• Please do not adjust margins when using the Activity Insight Dossier template.

• No more than 1600 words.

• Have a tenured faculty member read your narrative statement. You may receive constructive feedback.

A narrative statement indicates a candidate’s sense of their scholarship of teaching and learning; scholarship of research and creative accomplishments; and service and scholarship of service to the University, society, and the profession.

The purpose of this statement is not so much to call attention to achievements that are listed elsewhere in the dossier as it is to give candidates the opportunity to place their work and activities in context of their overall goals and agendas.

Scholarship of Teaching & LearningSection A

• Candidate provides information in all areas on the form with the following exceptions:

– Peer Evaluations – Admin. Support provides.– SRTE Scores – Auto upload into Activity Insight.– Student Comments – Full listing. Admin. Support provides.

• Important to have SRTE scores for all classes taught onload and overload.

• Timeline for included material:– For tenure consideration (with or without promotion): materials would be from date of employment

at PSU in a tenure-eligible position.– For promotion consideration, timeline would be from date of last promotion at PSU or most recent

five years, whichever is shorter. Candidates may include the last 10 years of information if they wish.

Scholarship of Research and Creative Accomplishments – Section B

• Candidate provides all information for this section.

• The Research Administration Office can provide a summary of information regarding funded projects. (Reminder: gifts from industry or internal to Penn State may not show up on the Research Office list. You will then need to supply that information.)

• Grants and Contract Information is uploaded into Activity Insight quarterly.

• Proposals submitted but not funded should be included in 2nd- and 4th-year dossiers only.

• Manuscripts in progress: Include only in 2nd and 4th-year reviews.

• Timeline for included material:– Covers candidate’s career.

Service and the Scholarship of Service to the University, Society and the

Profession – Section C

• Candidate provides all information.

• Timeline for included material.– For tenure consideration (with or without promotion) include material from date of employment at

Penn State in a tenure-eligible position.

• For promotion consideration, include material from date of last promotion at Penn State or most recent five years – whichever is shorter. Candidates may include the last 10 years of information if they wish.

External Letters of Assessment

• This section will remain confidential to the candidate for all time.• The Dean’s Office will oversee the process of obtaining external letters of

assessment.

Note:It is NOT appropriate for a candidate to contact potential letter writers either before or after the process—including contacts to “solicit their availability to write a letter.”

Statements of Evaluation of the Candidate by Review Committees and

Administrators

• Final section of the dossier. Information in this section is generated by the Promotion and Tenure Committee and by the Dean.

2nd year candidate

submits dossier to Dean’s Office Administrative

Assistant

July 1st August 31st

Dean’s Office Administrative

Assistant submits dossier

to P&T Cmte

All factual changes or new

information must be submitted by

this date

Feb 15th

P&T review completed and

forwarded to IST Dean

Mar 31st

Candidates notified of

results of review

May 8th

2nd Year Review (Please note** dates will vary slightly for the upcoming year.)

Candidate submits dossier to Dean’s Office Administrative

Assistant

July 1st August 31st

Dean’s Office Administrative

Assistant submits dossier

to P&T Cmte

All factual changes or new

information must be submitted by

this date

Feb 15th

P&T Review completed and

forwarded to IST Dean

Mar 31st

Candidates notified of

results of review

May 8th

4th Year Review (Please note that dates will vary slightly for the upcoming year.)

Note: this timeline would also be used for a 3rd and 5th year review

Candidate submits to the Dean’s Administrative Assistant Required Materials

• Academic CV• Narrative Statement• 5 best (representative) papers•Names of 5-6 potential external evaluators

April 1st May 15th

Resubmit revised CV/narrative as needed, and publications if desired.

Dossier submitted to Dean’s Administrative Assistant (Admin Asst. will review, return for corrections, then forward to P&T Cmte)

P&T Committee review completed and provided to IST Dean

Jan 2nd

Candidates notified of results of review

May 8th

6th Year Promotion and TenurePromotion to Full Professor

5th Year (early/Out of Sequence)Promotion and Tenure

Feb 15th Mar 2nd

College level reviews completed and forwarded to University P&T Cmte

Done in preparation for sending information to external evaluators

All factual changes or new information must be submitted by this date

Note: having the dossier complete and accurate by the July 1 date alleviates having to re-write with looming deadlines

(Please note that dates will vary slightly for the upcoming year.)

Feb 15th

Staying of the ProvisionalTenure Period

• Upon the written request of a faculty member, the Executive Vice President and Provost may grant a temporary staying of the tenure provisional period, if in his/her judgment, the academic performance of the provisional faculty member would be adversely affected by: the responsibility as primary care giver after the birth or adoption of a child, a serious personal illness, the provision of care for a seriously ill family member, or any similar situation.

• This special exception would be for one academic year for a provisional faculty member seeking tenure, and would normally be granted only once.

• At the end of the stayed year the faculty member would continue on the tenure track.

Formation of the P&T Committee• Eligible members of the P&T Committee include all tenured faculty members with a

majority appointment in IST. The committee has five tenured faculty members. The faculty elects four members, and the Dean of the College appoints one member. Two faculty members (one Full Professor and one Associate Professor) are elected each year to serve a two-year term.

• Each year the Dean appoints one member of the Committee for a one-year term.

• External committee member: Per University guidelines, if a college does not have at least three faculty members who are eligible to serve on a review committee, faculty in related fields from other academic departments shall be appointed by the Dean. When this happens, the candidate must provide rationale for use of an external committee member. This request must be approved by the Executive Vice President and Provost.

• Note: The candidate who wishes to have an external member on his or her committee needs to provide names of two tenured faculty (at PSU) to the Dean. Of the two names, the Dean will choose one to serve on the committee for that candidate.

Please remember . . . .

• Read AC-23 Guidelines (responsibility of the candidate to read material associated with P&T). https://policyedit.libraries.psu.edu/policies/ac23

• Follow each section within the dossier.• Use Activity Insight Digital Measures to populate your dossier.

https://activityinsight.psu.edu/• Everything listed is most recent date first (classes taught, articles published, etc.)• Supplemental material.• Please note everything must be factual (when in doubt, leave it out).• Please consult with Karen Brewster for questions.

“Faculty candidates under review are discouraged from approaching committee members at any time concerning the disposition of their review and should understand that inquiries of this type are deemed entirely inappropriate.”

• If a section does not apply, don’t use it.• Invite your colleagues to review and comment on your narrative.• Start early. You will need to allow yourself time to input your data into the Activity

Insight data base. Administrative support staff cannot enter the data.

All promotion and tenure dossiers must be created using theFaculty Activity Insight (FAIS) Digital Measures Database.

Training and Frequently Asked Questions:https://activityinsight.psu.edu/

Activity Insight

AC-23 Penn State Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations

Read Penn State Policy AC-23 (formerly HR23)Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Regulations

https://policyedit.libraries.psu.edu/policies/ac23

SummaryThe Road to Promotion and Tenure

• Organize your information.• Start early.• Ask questions.• Submit completed dossier on schedule.